How a couple turned a plot of land on the island of Sumba into a 4-level resort with suites and villas that go for up to $1,100 a night
Cap Karoso
- Fabrice and Eve Ivara bought a plot of land in 2017 on the wild island of Sumba in Indonesia.
- They turned the land into a luxury resort that runs on solar power and has its own organic farm.
- Guests can stay in suites and villas on the beach at Cap Karoso for up to $1,100 a night.
In 2016, Eve and Fabrice Ivara both hit a crossroads in their careers. She worked for Moët Hennessy in marketing, and he was about to sell his company after working for KPMG.
They decided to leave their home in France and go on a two-month adventure, making stops along the coast of Spain and in the wilderness of Norway before flying to Bali, Indonesia.
At a dinner in Bali with some people they'd met during the trip, they were told about an island they should visit.
"When they spoke about Sumba, they almost spoke of it in mythical tones. It reminded me of the movie, 'The Beach,'" Eve Ivara told Insider.
A few days later, Fabrice Ivara was walking along the high street in Seminyak when he saw some property in Sumba advertised in a real-estate agent's window.
"The land wasn't expensive, so it caught our interest," Eve Ivara said. "As we were about to return to France, my husband left his contact details, and they said they'd email us when plots of land became available."
The following year, they purchased a plot of land in Sumba and began construction on a resort. Now, they run Cap Karoso, which they named after Karoso beach where it's situated, together.
Falling in love with Sumba
In December 2016, Fabrice Ivara sold his company, and Eve launched her own consultancy, so they went to the Maldives to celebrate. On their way home, Fabrice received an email from the real-estate agent in Bali. They had a 9-hectare plot for sale on the coast in Sumba. As soon as they touched down in Paris, the couple repacked their suitcases and flew to see it.
They arrived in Sumba for the first time during the rainy season. The road was destroyed, there was no internet connection, and, when they stepped out of the agent's car to view the land for sale, they were greeted with scrubland, rocks, and two palm trees.
Yet the couple immediately fell in love with the untamed and undeveloped place.
"The ocean was so blue, and there was this very gray sky," Eve Ivara said, adding: "It looked like we'd reached the end of the world."
The couple put in an offer, and by February 2017, the plot was theirs.
Eve Ivara said they wanted to do more than use the land as an investment property.
"We didn't want to just own the land, speculate, and sell it again because what would you gain?" she said. "We were at a crossroads, and this would give us a chance to move forward."
They thought at first about opening a three-star hotel, as they could do this with their savings. But when Fabrice Ivara started to crunch the numbers, it became clear that to make the project profitable, they would need to charge luxury prices.
They loved the food in Spain, the wilderness of Norway, and the friendly atmosphere of Bali, so Cap Karoso became a combination of all their adventures.
Seeking funding
Cap Karoso
They decided to build a four-level resort on the hillside by the beach in the most sustainable way possible. But installing a state-of-the-art water-treatment plant on a tropical island wouldn't come cheap, so they had to seek funding.
In 2018, they hired Gary Fell, a British architect with GFAB Architects in Bali. Fell wanted to create a space that fit into the natural environment. He created a modern hotel with many nods to the people of the island, including a spa cluster of wooden villas with statuesque Sumbanese roofs.
While he was working on the drawings, the couple flew to London and Singapore to speak with investors. While Eve Ivara was running her consultancy, her husband was working on Cap Karoso full time. In July 2018, they moved to Singapore.
The couple sunk a large chunk of their savings into the project to show investors how dedicated they were.
"I'd just given birth to our daughter the month before, and I felt that nothing could stop me," Eve Ivara said.
It took a year and a half to complete the multimillion-dollar fundraise, which involved investors such as an Indonesian property company.
Getting permission from the locals
Cap Karoso
Before they could start construction in October 2019, they needed to take part in an ancient religious ceremony where the local Marapu people asked the ancestors of the land for their approval.
Shamans from the surrounding villages and 600 villagers gathered at Cap Karoso. The shamans carried out traditional dances, followed by long trancelike prayers in the Kodi dialect.
"The oldest shaman then pronounced, 'The ancestors gave their agreement. Cap Karoso will be built,'" Eve Ivara said.
The couple thanked the community in Indonesia's national language of Bahasa.
"I didn't speak any of it at the time, so I learned my speech by heart," Eve Ivara said.
Facing challenges
Cap Karoso
Building a hotel on the island was a challenge, from navigating construction equipment down village roads to finding out that the ship containing their materials couldn't leave port because of bad weather. Eve Ivara said that once a boat would arrive, they might find that a supplier forgot to send half of the materials, which would mean a contractor couldn't start work, so they'd leave.
They also dealt with a costly leveling mistake when the person they hired to measure the terrain calculated the angle incorrectly.
Eve Ivara said her favorite part was working with the local artisans.
"Working on this project was deliriously enjoyable," she said. "The artisans really understood my brief each time, and they'd always surpass what I'd imagined."
She was always looking for ways to embed Sumbanese symbols in their design. The statement lobby artwork was inspired by her visit to a Sumbanese village.
Dealing with the pandemic
Cap Karoso
At the end of 2019, the couple started work on a farm by leasing a 3-hectare plot of land from a neighbor. Fabrice Ivara had met Philippe Guiglionda, a farm consultant, through a friend in Singapore and invited him to oversee the project.
Then the pandemic hit, and progress on the hotel ground to a halt. The couple had to manage the project from Singapore.
The first two-bedroom villa was finished in 2021, and this became the family's home in Sumba.
"We wanted to open all the units at once, but, of course, with COVID-19 and its delays, we decided to open progressively," Eve Ivara said.
They started with a soft launch before they welcomed guests to each of their 47 suites and 20 villas, which cost between $250 and $1,100 a night.
The grand opening
Cap Karoso
The couple officially opened the hotel on March 20. Thanks to Eve Ivara's marketing background and her husband's food blog, Coup De Fourchette, Cap Karoso had already started to garner interest from Asian and European publications. Everyone was searching for an off-the-beaten-track destination after COVID-19 lockdowns ended, and that's what Cap Karoso offered.
They hired a luxury-travel public-relations company to work with the media, and Eve Ivara curated the Instagram page. They also partnered with Design Hotels, which they were both fans of, after meeting its vice president of Asia.
Now the Ivara family splits its time between Sumba and Singapore and relishes the role of hotelier.
"Our guests have already done things we haven't yet had the chance to do, as we've been so busy," Eve Ivara said. "I still haven't surfed, and the only time I've laid down on the lounger was when I bought it in the factory. We're enjoying being part of someone else's memories."
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